Cause It's Not Over
by JoyoftheStorm
Summary: (ONE-SHOT) ((REPOSTED)) He... wasn't quite sure where he was, exactly... Oh, it was the tiniest bit familiar... But he still wasn't sure. And then... He saw Him. His double. His other-dimensional counterpart. His life within a different life. He guessed that explained the vague sense of familiarity.


**Hey everyone, Hawk here! :) I was just going through some old (not THAT old, but at least a year or two...) folders of mine and stumbled across this! A song-fic I wrote, and the only one-shot I've ever finished. X3**

 **You can find the lyrics to the song "'Cause It's Not Over" on youtube, so listen while reading to get the full enjoyment out of this fic! :3**

 **I hope you all enjoy, and I'll see you at the end! :D**

* * *

He pushed himself harder, faster. He had to get there. He just had to. Had to make it in time to save them. He wouldn't let them down. He couldn't.

* * *

With one last push of effort, everything seemed to stand still around him. Like he was the only one not frozen in time's grasp. If it had been any other time, he would have looked around and explored his newfound speed with all the awe and excitement of a child... something he hadn't been since he was five years old... But, as it was, he barely even noticed, hyper-focused on his objective.

Run.

Run run runrun _runrun_ _ **run**_.

Make it, he had to _make it_.

* * *

He wasn't even supposed to _be_ in this reality! Heck, he didn't even know how he _got here_... What he was doing could be classified as a suicide mission...

But, that never stopped him before. And it wouldn't stop him this time either. He had lives depending on him! Determination flooded through him, prompting him to push himself even faster.

* * *

...Of course.

Of course the whole darn thing would be in the middle of the chaos-cursed _ocean_.

Where he couldn't move, react, _breath_...

He felt the very familiar feeling of a panic attack, but he stomped down on it savagely, kicking it to the farthest corners of his mind. He wouldn't let this get to him.

Not today.

Not this time.

* * *

The panic attack came storming back with a vengeance, making his Super form flicker and fade.

This... it was too much.

Too much, to soon, to _raw_...

But as he looked into his younger double's eyes (worry, desperation, rage at the situation, _fear_... for him, his siblings, for the world itself if his older self failed here...), he realized... It wasn't over.

Not yet.

Not by a long shot.

His Super form then blazed, brighter, stronger, far more powerful now that he pushed absolutely _everything_ aside except for the single most desire to _live_. To fight. To survive another day. To get home to his world and reality. So he fought on.

And on.

And on.

* * *

Looking into his blazing blood red eyes, Robottnick was deeply shook, surprise and fear lining every feature. Never had he ever seen such terrifying red eyes before... Granted, his own red and black eyes strike fear into the hearts of many, but...

Never has he ever been so terrified of something.

Not even by that blasted Oracle who had foretold his downfall, the end of his reign. Whom had paralyzed him so thoroughly that all he could even remotely move was his own thoughts.

But these eyes... They held a fire that he had never truly seen before.

So much was held in those eyes.

Eyes that had seen and experienced so much. That had survived- no, not just survived, but had _thrived_ \- through every hardship and fought through whatever Life had thrown at him.

Eyes of a battled hardened warrior. Eyes that told stories that none could ever truly believe. Eyes that held a power he thought unreachable, unfathomable.

And he knew then... That the time of his downfall was nigh. He had reached the end of his line, and now all he could see was those terrifying blood red eyes that shone with sheer power.

* * *

The battle was over.

But, a new one took it's place right after. The base was collapsing.

 _The base was collapsing_.

And they were at the farthest possible point from the escape shuttles.

The older shared a look with the younger, each expressing exactly what they thought of this predicament. No. They weren't going out this way. Not today. Nerves beyond frayed, thoroughly shot, they each grabbed one of the younger's siblings and ran. Ran as fast as hedgehogly possible without further collapsing the base.

* * *

There was only three escape pods... And they wouldn't fit more than one person each.

So he had a choice to make.

Either try and fit with one of the siblings, a very high possibility of him impaling them at the slightest bump on his highly dangerous and sharp quills... Or stay behind and risk the water, ensuring the littler ones safety.

Honestly, it wasn't even a decision.

He quickly placed the younger hedgies into the pods, but before he could close his younger self into one of the pods, the little prince grabbed his wrist, his dark eyes filled with concern. He seemed to notice something was amiss, but couldn't place it. And it worried the younger version.

But, burying his fears and giving a reassuring smile, the older gently removed the younger's grasp on his arm and rubbed between his ears. Then he quickly closed the pod and slammed his fist onto the eject button, sending them rocketing to the surface. Taking a deep breath, he steadied his heart and mind.

Well, he did always want to go out at least protecting those he cared for. Guess Fate was kind enough to let him have his way. Looking around, he estimated he had about three minutes left until the empty and destroyed base fully collapsed. So, with little left to do, he zoomed down the halls, trying to see if there was any way left to get out.

* * *

Gasping, he dodged yet another ceiling beam chaos-bent on trying to murder him. Shaking his head, he scolded himself. _Get a grip! Your stronger than this. Think Hedgehog! Think!_ As if struck by lightning (and he would know... as it had happened... more than once...) he remembered that _his_ 'Bottnick always had more than one way to get out, every if everything else was destroyed. So, zooming quickly back into the control room, he practically tore apart the room looking for something-anything!- to escape his very soon to be watery grave.

And find it he did.

Just in time too, because as soon as he leaped into the extra escape pod and ejected, the base _exploded_. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he released a gusty sigh of relief. He knew that once he got to the surface, that there would be far more work to be done. After-all, the battle on the surface wasn't over yet. He could hear the explosions from here.

No time for rest.

* * *

There... had been huge, blinding light... And then...

Nothing.

Was he dead? He didn't feel dead. But, then again, what did he know about how death felt on the other side?

Feeling slowly came back to him.

And then sound. Oh, he would never take for granted the sound of rain ever again. Even if it was still water. Right now, it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

Slowly blinking open his heavy eyes -when did they get so heavy?-, he realized something...

This... This was _his_ dimension! He was finally home!

But, how? All he could remember was the light...

It was then he noticed something. It was quiet...

Too quiet.

Where was everyone?

Gathering his little energy, he stood up, gathered his bearings, and then took off in a blue blurr.

No rest for the weary, after all.

* * *

 **...Meehhhhhhhh, not to happy with the ending...**

 **I might fix this later, but it's not very high on my to-do list. :P**

 **It IS old, after-all. X3 Like, I was kinda just starting out.**

 **Testing the waters and such. :3**

 **Anwayysss... Like it? Love it? Hate it? Lemme know! :)**

 **~See you all next time,**

 **Hawkfeather**


End file.
